By: Allison Ballard
When preparing a class for performance, picking a song is always the crucial first step. The group will be spending several months working on the song so it must be interesting and engaging. It can’t be too easy or students will get bored and it can’t be too hard or they’ll grow frustrated and give up. It needs to provide enough structure to guide and contain the experience and enough room for creative interpretation that students’ imaginations will be inspired. Sometimes I teach a traditional taiko song or a contemporary song taught to me by other taiko drummers; sometimes I teach an original song that I have written. And sometimes the group I am working with creates their own song.
When the advanced taiko class I teach at an elementary school returned from holiday break in January, the drummers decided they wanted to create a taiko piece inspired by the popular song Happy, by Pharrel Williams. I thought it was a great idea and they were clearly excited so we moved forward. I invited them to come to class with ideas about how to approach this task and I went home and watched the YouTube video of the song…over and over! A rhythmic phrase of the chorus emerged and my thoughts and body became saturated as I played it via body percussion throughout the week. I was excited to teach it during the next class and they seemed excited to learn it. As a group, we have continued listening to the song and making choices about how to interpret it as a taiko composition. They are making decisions about how the drums should be positioned and how the song should be structured. We have created a canon and have allowed for a moment of improvisation that includes both drumming and dancing. We continue sculpting and experimenting and immersing ourselves in our own version of Happy! What an exciting way to watch these young drummers grow!